In certain deep surgical procedures, it is necessary to operate through a small opening into the body. These surgeries commonly employ specula (medical instruments for dilating a bodily passage or cavity) with built-in tubes to remove smoke from the surgical site during cautery procedures such as laser or electrosurgical excision or cauterization. Additionally, a separate suction tube and/or irrigation source may be introduced for the purpose of removing smoke and debris from, or irrigation of, the surgical site. Tubing used to remove smoke and debris or to provide irrigation can obstruct the surgical site and impede visualization. Therefore, it is preferable to avoid having these additional tubes at the surgical site.
Systems used in electrosurgical cautery procedures (referred to herein as cautery procedures) typically comprise a handpiece and interchangeable electrodes. Cautery electrodes consist of a tip that contacts tissue at the surgical site, a shaft of a given length, and a connector end that is inserted into the handpiece. The tips are made in many different shapes and sizes, including blade, ball tip, needle tip, and thin wire loops.
Prior art cautery systems that provide evacuation and/or irrigation have a variety of disadvantages. For example, cautery devices with incorporated suction were previously described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,928 to Seiger, U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,780 to Morrison, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,838 to Walker. These devices comprise a hollow metal conductive tube covered by insulation. The hollow inner metal tube carries the suction and ends in a blunt tip. This design is limited to a single tip that can perform coagulation but not cutting and requires a disposable handpiece with a smoke evacuation channel running through the handpiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,428 to Kaufman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,442 to Hirschfeld, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,057,470 to Lee et al. describe devices that include a smoke suction tube that surrounds or is applied next to a standard detachable electrode or blade. These devices also require a disposable handpiece with a smoke evacuation channel running through the handpiece.
Other patents for cautery systems with incorporated smoke evacuation include U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,944 to Cosmescu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,944 to Elliott, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,353 to Platt. These patents describe a moveable or detachable shroud or tube that covers or lies next to the cautery electrode and provides the smoke evacuation conduit. Exchanging of electrodes to provide different tips requires removal and/or adjustment and readjustment of the smoke evacuation conduit.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a cautery electrode and cautery system that overcome the aforementioned and other disadvantages.